The Virginians: A Tale of the Last Century

Smith, Elder and Co. Very Good. 1893 Smith, Elder and Co. (London), 5 3/4 x 8 inches tall hardcover, pale blue cloth boards over green leather spine and tips, five raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, heraldic crest in gilt to upper tip of front cover, marbled endpapers, engraved frontispiece with tissue guard, 770 pp. Slight soiling and rubbing to covers. Otherwise, apart from very slight age toning, a very good copy - clean and unmarked - in a handsome leather binding. Due to the weight of the book, additional postage will be required for standard international orders. ~SP46~ [2.5P] A renowned historical novel by British novelist, author and illustrator William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) which forms a sequel to his Henry Esmond and is also loosely linked to Pendennis. It tells the story of Henry Esmond's twin grandsons, George and Henry Warrington. Henry's romantic entanglements with an older woman lead up to his taking a commission in the British army and fighting under the command of General Wolfe at the capture of Quebec. On the outbreak of the American War of Independence he takes the revolutionary side. George, who is also a British officer, thereupon resigns his commission rather than take up arms against his brother. First issued serially in 1857, The Virginians was first published in book form in 1858-59 by Bradbury and Evans in two volumes. During the Victorian era, Thackeray was ranked second only to Charles Dickens as a novelist, and his work Vanity Fair, which has become a fixture in university courses, has been repeatedly adapted for the cinema and television.